Monday, July 31, 2017

It's beautiful, the dying sunThe end of everything and everyoneSo shall we make a clan my friendAs if we have the chance to live it all againI'll see you in some other lifetimeOn the other side of what we'll never knowTogether we have walked a fine lineNow we go to face the universe aloneIn plain view, the mistakes we've madeBut is there anything you'd really want to change?To win and lose then win againTo have it all then throw it all awayI'll see you in some other lifetimeOn the other side of what we'll never knowTogether we have walked a fine lineNow we go to face the universe aloneHow beautiful the closing downThe fading out, it spins and goes aroundWith darkness and the heart of manAnd here we are back where it all beganI'll see you in some other lifetimeThe universe aloneThe universe aloneThe universe alone

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Interior designer extraordinaire Martyn Lawrence Bullard and his partner Michael Green created a fabulous retro house for themselves in the prestigious Movie Colony area of Palm Springs. The 1963 house by modernist architect James McNaughton has a history. Bullard says, "Hugh Hefner supposedly owned it in the ’70s, then Roger Moore, who had it tricked out in fabulous James Bond finery. This place was built for relaxation and fun, so we use it in that spirit." The style he chose for the house is also in that spirit. Bullard described it to Architectural Digest as "a mix of swinging '60s with a touch of disco '70s."

The satisfyingly symmetrical house resembles a mini version of Wallace K. Harrison’s Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

What '70s-inspired home would be complete without Vladimir Kagan's kidney-shaped Serepntine Sofas (seen below on the zebra rugs)?

A Cole & Sons '70s geometric wallpaper covers a hallway...

...and the dining room. The silver mylar ceiling...

...continues into the kitchen.

The screening room is lacquered in emerald green with topographical de Sede Terrazza sofas covered in Ultrasuede. It looks like one of the VIP lounges at Studio 54 back in the day.

The master suite's mylar ceiling is complemented by a Charles Hollis Jones Lucite bed and an artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

The master suite sitting area features a vintage Milo Baughman chair.

A guest room is covered with a period-perfect tropical palm-frond wallpaper from Schumacher that recalls the lively, jet-set, Slim Aarons days of Palm Springs.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Memory and the cognitive layers they create. This is the goal of painter Joshua Flint. His Artist Statement sums it up:

"My work is based on images curated from many sources such as digitized museum archives, vintage shops, and social media platforms. The paintings fluctuate between the familiar and the unknown while simultaneously including the past and present. By rearranging the hierarchy of elements the paintings become fictions that allow countless interpretations. Layered into works are references to liminality, ecological issues, neuroscience, psychological states, and the history of painting, among others.The images sourced from out-of-date materials hold a special fascination. Much like observing the ruins of an old, grand building or a church in a state of decay, the characters and objects that populate his paintings are employed to create a sense of ephemerality, imbuing the work with a kind of fascination and disquiet, over the passage of time. Used in this way they serve as reminders that cutting edge trends and novelty will evolve into new iterations or be abandoned altogether. Using these sources for my paintings allows a certain distance to reinterpret as I see fit. I can see this person or place in a photograph but know nothing about what is going on beyond those paper borders. That ambiguity, between the seen and unseen, between the real and the imaginary, is where my paintings live."

Top to bottom: A Year of Soft Conversation; All The Falling Leaves; Carousel; Shorelines; Soft Preoccupations; The Assistant; The Banquet; The Catcher; The Volunteers; The World Between

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Well, here is a piece of information I did not know until now: the boots that are part of an astronaut's suit have not been updated or changed in the last 50 years! So athletic shoe manufacturer Reebok teamed up with aviation and aerospace headset manufacturer David Clark Company to design a new space boot. And the SB-01 is the stunning result. They look so good, I really want a pair to wear here on earth!

"Weight is a huge factor in space travel with just a single pound having big financial implications," says Matt Montross of Reebok Innovation. "Traditional space boots were made of rigid leather with firm soles and were not integrated into the actual space suit. Reebok Floatride Foam introduced three revolutionary elements to the space boot; it decreased the overall weight significantly, it brought the added comfort in a space boot and support that you would expect in a running shoe and it delivered a new level of sleekness and style."

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The lovely, colorful work of Japanese illustrator Eizin Suzuki is perfect for summer. His images of California, Hawaii, and even the coasts of Italy and France are perfectly captured by Suzuki in clean, graphic lines (there's a slight 1980s reference when one thinks of the work of artists like Patrick Nagel) and bright colors--and the way he renders sunlight through trees and foliage is delightful. One can practically feel the humidity and smell the salt air.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

AWAKEN is a feature documentary film by director, cinematographer, editor, and producer Tom Lowe exploring humanity's relationship with technology and the natural world.

Shot over a 5-year period in more than 30 countries, the film pioneers new time-lapse, time-dilation, underwater, and aerial cinematography techniques to give audiences new eyes with which to see our world. Executive produced by Terrence Malick (auteur filmmaker, and creator of the experimental fim "Voyage Of Time, previously here) and Godfrey Reggio (director of the Qatsi trilogy of films: "Koyaanisqatsi," "Powaqqatsi," and "Naqoyqatsi"), AWAKEN is a celebration of the spirit of life, an exploration of the Earth, and an ode to the Cosmos.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

The Nature Conservancy has designed what they are calling "Products Of Tomorrow."

Based on our current trajectory and climate change, land and drinkable water will be scarce, producing droughts and famines. Couple this with political and social calamities stemming from what is happening now. This is the likely outcome.

It doesn't have to be like this. Visit The Nature Conservancy website for more info.

Friday, July 21, 2017

Just look at these gorgeous ceramic pieces by Australian artist and ceramicist Niharika Hukku. She works in watercolor and translates that medium to glazed pieces portraying clouds, the moon, landscapes, and birds, fish, and natural objects...

About Me

About "Oh, By The Way"

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.

Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft) and I will be happy to provide a link.

I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain ME. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.

All-time Favorite Films

2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)

Amelie

American Beauty (Alan Ball)

Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)

Belle et Bete (Cocteau)

Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)

Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)

Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)

Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)

Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)

Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)

Easy Rider

Edward II (Derek Jarman)

Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)

Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)

Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)

Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)

Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)

Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)